


Good Game Bakery AU

by Chips_and_Ice_Cream



Category: Game Grumps, Good Game (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bakery, Angst, Flashbacks, Intrusive Thoughts, M/M, Mentions of Death, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Ryland really needs a hug
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-01
Updated: 2018-01-04
Packaged: 2019-02-26 05:55:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13229430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chips_and_Ice_Cream/pseuds/Chips_and_Ice_Cream
Summary: When Ryland's Father passes away, he returns to his hometown to run the family business. Unfortunately, problems keep popping up in his life, and Ryland wonders if his life is ever going to go the way he wanted it to.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Smallswritesstuff](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Smallswritesstuff/gifts).



> This is based on an idea Smallswritesstuff came up with, hope you enjoy!

Ryland couldn’t believe this was happening. Sure, he and his dad had never gotten along great, but when he’d received the call from the hospital about his father’s death… His dad was the only family he had.  _‘And you left him anyway.’_  Ryland shook his head, now wasn’t the time for that trail of thought. He had work to do.

Ryland had just moved away from his home town to pursue his art career, thinking that living in the city might help inspire him, and provide more job opportunities. Now, barely a month later, he was moving back to sort out his father’s affairs. Which meant taking over the family business; The Tate and Son Bakery. A quaint little place, where Ryland had spent most of his time as a child. God, he didn’t think he’d end up back here any time soon. Not after what happened the last time.

He took a deep breath, putting memories – good and bad – to the back of his mind as he opened the door. The soft jingle of the bell and the familiar surroundings were a small comfort, but the two faces which he saw were what truly brought a small smile to his own. Lorenzo and Sam.

Lorenzo was his father’s good friend, and accountant. He didn’t come to the bakery often, but Ryland could recall the rare times that the older man would drop by over the years, and always made time to see Ryland when he was around. It was nice, especially as most people who had visited the bakery to see his father had paid little to no attention to Ryland’s presence, often leaving him by himself.

Sam had started working at the bakery about a year ago, when Ryland’s father decided to branch out and start a local delivery service to compete with the growing competition. Sam was the only applicant for the job, and she never disappointed. Determined to be the best delivery girl possible, Sam knew the fastest routes to every street, memorised the orders for their regulars, and had never missed a day of work. To be honest Ryland had found her drive for perfection quite intimidating at first – still did to some degree - but after getting to know her she became his closest friend. His only friend really.

“Hey guys.”

“Hey Ryland.” Sam came over to him, offering a hug. “How are you handling everything?”

“As well as anyone would, I guess.” He replied, returning the hug.

“At least you don’t need to worry about opening up shop today.” Lorenzo piped up. He was right, it was Wednesday. The bakery was always closed on Wednesdays; it’s the day when they’d usually go over stock levels, and check which goods may need to be reduced as they reach expiration dates. Lucky for Ryland, Lorenzo and Sam had already taken care of that yesterday whilst he’d been travelling.

“Yeah, thanks for taking care of things here before I got back.”

“Oh, we didn’t mind, anything to help out. Right Sam?”

Sam started walking to the counter “Of course,” she said, grabbing her stuff, “but I’m afraid I can’t stay, I’ve got practice. We’ll catch up soon, ‘kay?”

“Yeah, sure. You’ll need to tell me all about how your Olympic training’s going.” Ryland had been surprised when Sam had told him that she was aiming to compete in the games as a tennis player. He didn’t really know much about sports, but he seemed to remember that tennis players would work towards grand slam tournaments or something rather than the Olympics. Not that it mattered, if Sam was happy with her goals, then it was all cool.

“Only if you tell me all about your time away.” Ryland hoped she didn’t notice the way he tensed up. There’s a future conversation he’s going to have to half-truth his way through. He hadn’t achieved anything in the city, and he didn’t need Sam trying to comfort him about it and give some motivational speech to go and get what he wants out of life. Not with everything else he has on his plate right now.

“Of course. See ya.”

“Bye Sam, have fun!”

“Later.” Sam waved behind her as she left, the bell ringing when the door opened.

Ryland waved back, then turned back, jumping slightly when he discovered Lorenzo was right in front of him. Even more unnerving was that Lorenzo wasn’t smiling. Ryland didn’t even think that was possible, Lorenzo always had a grin on his face. “Ugh, sup dude?”

“I need to talk to you about some financial issues.”

“Issues?”

“Yes. You see, since the bakery had been running at a net loss for the past year-”

“Wait, what?”

“You didn’t know?”

“No!” Ryland hadn’t spoken to his father about the business side of Tate and Son in years.

“Oh, I just assumed. Well, it started when Lucid Nightmare opened across the street. A lot of customers, especially younger ones, were more attracted to their ‘Hip’ and ‘Edgy’ aesthetic. Your dad kept up with them for a while when the delivery service started, but Lucid just keep stealing customers. The only reason Tate’s is still open is because of the savings put aside, and they’re starting to run low. I was going to ask if you had any plans to help with the situation, but seeing as you didn’t know I’ll call you in a week or so when you’ve had some time to think things though. Don’t hesitate to call if you need anything.” Lorenzo gave Ryland a pat on the shoulder, passing by him to make a hasty exit in order to avoid an awkward conversation.

Ryland stares behind himself for a moment as the ringing of the bell slowly fades into silence. He didn’t think everything could’ve gotten worse than it already was.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day starts much too early. Ryland wakes up with the summer sun, staring at the ceiling as he tries to muster up the energy to get out of bed. He’d been up most of the night mulling over what Lorenzo had told him. How was he meant to fix this shit?

He spent a good amount of time moving his stuff back into the apartment above the bakery yesterday, his head full of problems and worries and no solutions. Now he was fully awake, lying in bed, head full of the same thoughts. ‘ _You should have cared more about this place.’_ Nope, no, not going there. Time to get up.

Looking over at the clock, Ryland saw that it was nearly 7:00, about two hours before opening time. He can afford to take his time getting ready. Opening shop. Oh boy. Breath, it’s cool. He can do this. It’s not like it’s hard to run a bakery, especially if they don’t have a lot of business coming in, and he’s worked here before. It felt like a lifetime ago, but he’d done this before. He can do it again. _‘Without your dad.’_ Fucking. Not now. Ryland rubbed his hands over his face, shifting his mindset to be more productive. Getting ready. Right. Shower.

* * *

 

“Thank you, Ryland. Again, I’m so sorry to hear about your father.”

“No problem Mrs Johnson.” Ryland mumbles as he follows his latest customer to the door so he can put up the lunch break sign, waving her goodbye as he does so, trying to give her a small smile.

Things hadn’t gone so bad that morning. Sam had come in to get one morning delivery… and only delivery for the day so far, and a handful of customers had come by in drips and drabs. The only issue was that everyone kept bringing up his dad. All he wanted to do was sell his cakes and shit, not be forced into a mini heart to heart with everyone that came in just because they felt obliged to feel sorry for him.

At least he had about an hour to himself for lunch… and to get started on the afternoon baking. Okay, one thing at a time. Lunch first, then figure out what he wants to do about baking for today. As he walks up to the apartment to grab a sandwich, Ryland thinks back to when his dad first showed him how things worked at the bakery.

_“Don’t get too close to the stove Ryland, you don’t want to burn yourself.”_

_“But I wanna eat my cupcakes soon as they’re done!” Ryland was jumping up and down, excited as any five-year-old would be with the knowledge that cake was just within their reach._

_His father chuckled, “Well, why would you want to do that before we decorate them?”_

_Little Ryland’s eyes filled with joy. “You mean like art for cupcakes?”_

_“Hmm, I suppose so, yes.”_

_“Should I get my crayons?”_

_“No, no Ryland,” said with a laugh, “we don’t decorate baked goods with crayons.”_

_“I know that! I’m five now Dad, I know crayons taste icky! I wanna draw what my cupcakes will look like!” He said, before rocketing up the stairs to get his colours and paper._

Ryland smiled as he reached the apartment. That was one of the best day’s he could remember from when he was younger, especially around that time.

_“Hey kiddo. How’re those cupcake designs coming along?”_

_“Good! I’ve made a Mega Man one, and one with a car on it, and one for Mom! Look!” He grabbed the paper, sticking it right in front of his Dad’s face before stepping back to show him properly. Sure enough there was a set of three circles with little pictures drawn in them – a red car in one, a blue man in another, and… The smile falls from his father’s face. “What’s wrong Dad? Did I not spell it right?”_

_The third design had a message that said ‘Get wel sun’ with some swirls around it. “Oh,” his dad snapped out of his thoughts, and gave him a small smile, “um. Not quite Ryland, but very close. And your Mom will love the swirls.”_

_“They’re not swirls, they’re those pretty flower things you make.”_

_“The icing flowers?”_

_“Yeah! Them things! Will you show me how to make them?” He started jumping up and down again, excited to do something just like his Dad._

_“Of course kiddo, let’s head down and make a start. Those cupcakes should be cool enough to decorate now.”_

_“Yay!”_

Ryland finishes his lunch, reminiscing on that bittersweet time in his life. Him and his dad had spent the next few hours decorating, when Ryland hadn’t been eating the icing. He’d even made some pretty good icing flowers after many attempts, ones his Dad had said were so good they were perfect for his Mom’s cupcake.

He hadn’t understood how ill she was. He thought she was going to get better and come home, and everything would be the same as always. It was only three days later when she died. When his father had explained to him that his Mom was never coming home. _‘Neither is he.’_

No. Don’t think about that. Go back to the fun. The icing. The icing flowers. That gave him an idea, something to make for the afternoon.

* * *

 

He finishes decorating the first lot of icing flower cupcakes just before he has to open the shop for the afternoon, putting the finished product on a plate with a ‘Freshly baked!’ sign, with a second batch baking in the oven, filling the space with a delicious aroma. It was a tactic his dad had implemented soon after opening the business; draw customers in with a comforting smell of homemade pastries and cakes.

Ryland hears the bell above the door ring while checking on the cupcakes in the vintage oven, which has always taken pride of place in the bakery. He glances at the clock, they don’t open for another five minutes. “Sorry, we’re not quite open yet, would you mind…” Ryland trails off as he turns to see who entered. Great, just what he needed. “What are you doing here?”

“C’mon, that’s no way to greet an old friend. Bring it in buddy!”

 _‘No no we’re not friends.’_ He thought as he was dragged into a hug. Why is he here?

Steven, or Steamin as he’s been known as since they were teenagers, was… Well, he wasn’t ever Ryland’s friend, per say, more like they were both huge nerds and no one else would hang out with them, so Ryland ended up stuck with this jackass in school because it was better than being alone. Although, now he thinks that would’ve been preferable than the years he’s been putting up with Steamin since.

“How ya been man? You totally disappeared, I thought you went to, like, rehab or something.”

“Um, yeah.” God just kill him now. Ryland plays with his sleeve, rubbing at a spot of flour that had gotten onto it. “I moved away, you know. Trying out some things. Like… stuff.” Wow, this is an awkward conversation.

“Good for you man. So listen, we haven’t talked in months, and I gotta go back to the shop soon. Come round after you close up, we’ll catch up, yeah?”

“Uh, I don’t-”

“I won’t take no for an answer!” Steamin said, heading for the door, “Closing time, I’ll see you!” He slams the door behind him, the bell rings more vigorously than usual, and Ryland winces at the sudden noise. Fuck. Looks like he’s visiting Steamin later. If he didn’t show that motherfucker would just keep bugging him about it.

With a sigh, Ryland heads to the door to open up for the afternoon.

* * *

 

He sighed again whilst closing. He was starting to see just how bad the business was doing; only one more customer had come in, and that had just been some dipshit kid trying to steal the fresh cupcakes. What had his Mom called him when she came to drag him out, Kamal? Ryland would have to remember him.

And now he’s gotta go see Steamin. Again. Great. Well, nothing he does will impress the guy, he’ll just head over now, get it out of the way and get out of his work clothes when he gets back.

Ryland locks up the shop and takes the short walk over to Lucid Nightmare. It looks so much bigger than Tate and Son, even though they’re probably similar in size. Lucid has a cool looking purple, black and green colour scheme to it, neon lights at the window display and in the shop sign, and as Ryland gets closer he can hear the music they blare in the shop. He stops for a moment to looks back at Tate’s, with it’s simple beige paint job, chipped and cracked from lack of upkeep, a simple display in the window, and faded sign. No wonder his Dad had been losing business.

 _‘Why didn’t you notice before?’_ Oh come on! He’s got enough shit to deal with right. He buries the guilt down, and realises that the music and lights at Lucid have been turned off. Just as he reaches the door Steamin comes out. “Bro!” He drags Ryland into another hug. Oh joy of joys.

“Um, hey.”

“Come on, let’s get going man.” Steamin stars locking up the shop. Oh. Oh no.

“Dude, I thought we were just hanging out here to catch up and shit.”

“Nah man, I’ve been here most of the day. We’re heading to the bar!” Of course they were.

It wasn’t far, just down the street. Steamin was saying something about himself, but Ryland was zoned out, not thinking of anything in particular, just dreading going to a place that’s probably full of people who knew his Dad, wanting to talk to him, give condolences, ask how he’s doing, ask where he’s disappeared to… okay so he did have a particular thing on his mind.

“What do you think Ryland?”

“Uh.” Shit, what did he say? “I think, um.” Ryland is saved from having to answer as they reach the bar and see a lanky guy with crazy looking hair getting kicked out.

“I told ya, ya reached your limit Alex! Your friend would kill me if she knew I let ya get this wasted, never mind any more.” The bartender heads back in, he doesn’t seem to have noticed Ryland and Steamin.

“Fuck you man, I c’n handle myself. ‘M not tha bad.” Wow, this guy is gone, judging by how slurred his speech pattern is and how he stumbles down the street, probably going to find somewhere that would serve him. It’s early evening at best, how much had he drunk already?

“Wow, that poor bastard is completely pissed. Probably gonna end up in a gutter somewhere.”

“Dude!”

“What, like you weren’t thinking it. C’mon, I’ll buy you a drink.” They head in and Steamin motions to the guy at the bar, probably knows him. Ryland looks around, the place is pretty empty, thank god. “So, what do you think about my proposal?”

“Um, could you go over it once more?” Please say that’s going to work.

“Okay, imagine. Lucid Nightmare as a household name across the nation. I’m expanding dude, already got three more properties ready to convert into new bakeries, and another two to be café style establishments.” Holy shit, this is a business pitch! Their drinks arrived, and Ryland sipped at his as Steamin continued. “Ryland, I want your help man. We could run the greatest modern bakery chain of all time. Together. You just gotta sell your old man’s place, and we’d be all set.”

Ryland… didn’t know how to feel. He really didn’t want to run Tate and Son for a living, but that extended to not wanting to run ANY bakery. Especially if that meant working with Steamin on a day to day basis. Plus, chances are he wouldn’t even get much money if he sold… wait. “I can’t fucking believe you.”

“What are you talking about buddy?”

“You just want Tate’s out of the way so you’re the only bakery around here! I bet the other places you bought were bakeries you bought out too!”

“Alright, alright. You were always a smart kid Ryland-”

“We’re the same age!”

“I knew I’d taught you how to spot a scam like this well-”

“You’re the one trying to scam me!”

“But I really, truly, believe-”

“Fuck this man, I’m out.” Ryland tips back the rest of his drink and walks out, ignoring Steamin’s calls to hear him out. Why’d he even bother showing up?

He’s heading straight home. He’s gonna go home, sort out the display for tomorrow and… “What the fuck?”

“Oh umm…”

It’s that guy from the bar. Stood in front of Tate and Son. And the display window has been smashed.


End file.
